


Prince and Swan

by bzarcher



Series: Rising Swan (The Odette AU) [10]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Established OC, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Odette!AU, Post-Talon!Widowmaker, Swan Lake - Freeform, Tatooing, Tattoos, Widowtracer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8398234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bzarcher/pseuds/bzarcher
Summary: Lena's finally ready to get a tattoo of her own.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic references events and characters from the Odette AU story [Reclamation](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8176612/chapters/18733417), so you may want to read that first if you're not familiar with the setting.

After a few months of thinking about the tattoo idea she’d started to have at Practical Magic, Lena suddenly realized she knew exactly what she wanted.

The only problem was trying to explain the image that had slowly solidified in her mind. She wasn’t really much of an artist, and even though Hana would probably have done the job if she’d asked, she wanted a slightly different style. Besides, Jill would have to adjust and transfer it anyway –

_Oh!_

Grinning, Lena grabbed her phone out of her pocket, googled the tattoo shop’s number, and waited for the line to connect.

_-Practical Magic Tattoo and Piercing, this is Jill._

“Hullo, luv! It’s Lena Oxton!”

- _Oh, hey! Been wondering when I’d hear back from you._

“Sorry, things got a little crazy after you finished Odette’s back piece.”

- _Yeah, Squirt told me you guys had…um…some trouble later that night. Figured you’d been busy Hero-ing and absolutely not doing anything that rhymes with Clover Swatch._

Lena couldn’t help but giggle. “Oh, god. Have we mentioned you’d fit right in around here?”

_-I appreciate the thought, but I like setting my own schedule. Besides, I’m still trying to get Hana to work more than ten hours a week over here._

“Wait, seriously?” Lena looked at the phone, blinking. “How’d I miss that?”

_-Nights and weekends. She did a stream from here where she did some practice ink designs on an orange and I guess her fans went nuts, so she’s been coming by to practice and do some apprentice work._

“Huh.”

_-So, anyway, not that this isn’t fun, but what were you calling me for?_

“Oh, right! Well, I think I have a good idea for that tattoo I wanted to get, and I was wondering if I could have you do up a design and figure out the best way to make it work on me?”

_-Sure, seeing as that’s literally my job! I’ve got a slot on my calendar for Thursday afternoon from 2-6 I could block out for a design appointment. Think you can make it?_

“Absolutely!”

- _Great, see you then!_

“Cheers!”

* * *

Lena had been quietly looking forward to her appointment, but had also carefully NOT told Odette about it yet. Not lied to her – she’d very quietly sworn that she would never do that – but also not mentioned her plans yet. After all, this was kind of meant to be a surprise. She’d also made an ‘arrangement’ with Winston that she wouldn’t be deployed for anything beyond a coffee run or grocery shopping on Thursday, to ensure she wouldn’t miss the appointment due to ‘work.’

(Payment for which may or may have not involved using her abilities to deliver a fresh case of Peanut Butter to Winston’s private stock in the 0.025 second window between Athena’s sensor sweeps.)

She mentioned needing to run into town for ‘a couple things’, given her lover a kiss before she’d gone off for another boxing lesson with Fareeha, then grabbed a much-loved black Harrington jacket that she’d rescued from her old flat to protect from the late autumn chill.

Lena was still feeling a slight undercurrent of unease in the back of her mind from leaving her Accelerator back at the Watchpoint, but she reminded herself that Jill would have needed her to take it off anyway. She trusted Winston and knew the Anchor would keep her where she wanted to be – she really did – but that reassuring solidity clamped around her had been a defense against quite a lot of things.

Still, it was kind of nice to feel nothing but fabric and a seat belt against her chest. The seats in her Invicta were a lot more comfortable this way, too. Not having to adjust for the weight of the harness or the way it affected her balance. Being able to have Odette’s arms around her at night without worrying about rolling over or shifting in her sleep.

Jill had been sitting at her desk by the tattoo chair and table, her hair now a brilliant purple instead of the electric blue she’d had on their last visit to the shop. Looking up as the door opened, she stood with a broad grin. “Hey! Glad you could make it.”

“Hullo! Thanks for making the time!” Walking up to shake the well-built artist’s hand, Lena returned her smile, her eyes dancing with excitement. “I’m really excited to see what you come up with.”

“Well,” Jill waved her over to the couches where they’d sat and had lunch during Odette’s tattooing session, taking a small notebook and pen from her pants pocket, “tell me what you have in mind? From there, I’ll try a few things out and we’ll see what you think.”

Lena nodded, unzipping her jacket but not completely removing it so she could conceal her most distinctive feature quickly if needed, in case another potential customer were to come in.

“Well,” she began to explain as the artist started to scribble notes, “I was reading about the plot of Swan Lake, and the different productions. The evil wizard – Von Rothbart – is usually someone in an Owl costume for most of the show, right? So assuming the director _isn’t_ a right depressing bastard who decided that everyone dies, Siegfried goes into battle against the wizard, and eventually he pierces him through the heart, breaking the curse and restoring Odette to human form so they can live happily ever after.”

Jill smiled as she listened to Lena’ explanation of what she had in mind. “Ahhh. I think I see where you’re going with this. So does that mean you’re _our_ Odette’s prince?”

Lena blushed a bit, her smile going wistful. “I never was that interested in being a princess. But I think I’d be up for riding in to save the day.”

Jill nodded. “And the wizard?”

Lena grew thoughtful. “I certainly helped break the curse. Talon is still out there, sorry to say, but they’ll never hurt her again, not if I can help it. And she’s done plenty to save herself, too.”

The tattoo artist nodded with a smile. “I think I have a few ideas. Give me a couple minutes to work on a few sketches, and then we can talk about placement?”

“Sure! Mind if I order in some takeaway while I wait?”

“Help yourself. Menus are in the same drawer as last time.”

“Cheers.”

Two hours later, Lena was pleasantly full of fish curry and rice as they looked over the design that had taken shape after several rounds of sketches and discussions.

The tattoo would depict a screeching owl with sharp, shadowed features and red eyes, wings flared out and back as if in flight. A longsword with a quillon shaped like a swan’s upraised wings would be driven through the demonic creature’s breast, and bright blue ink would be used to highlight the edge of the blade, tying it together with the piece that Jill now had proudly displayed on her highlight wall with the title ‘Rising Swan’.

“This is _brilliant_ ,” Lena breathed, gently running a fingertip over the paper, “honestly, Jill, even better than what I’d had in my head. I love the touch with the sword’s guard.”

“Thank you!” The tattoo artist beamed at the praise, then sat back to consider her canvas. “Do you mind if I make a suggestion on placement?”

“You’re the expert,” Lena conceded happily, “need me to get this jacket off?”

“Yeah, in a moment.” Walking to the front of her shop, Jill locked her door and then drew the blinds after putting the “Private Session in Progress” sign back up, just as she had for Odette’s tattooing. “I’m assuming you don’t want to jump right in, but I do want to get a good look at you.”

Lena couldn’t help but smirk as she slid off her jacket and the t-shirt she’d been wearing under it, leaving just her sports bra. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“Less often than you think,” the artist teased back, “my husband’s a professor in town. He hates when I bring work home without advance warning.”

That got both of them laughing. Trying to ride the comfortable lightness of that moment, Lena took a deep breath, then pulled the sports off, exposing the anchor implant along with the rest of herself.

To her credit, Jill didn’t blink. “OK. So, go ahead and stand up for me, and turn so your shoulder is facing me?”

“Left or right?”

“I think right would work better for the design as we’ve laid it out.”

“Right-o.”

The artist snorted. “I see what you did there.” Standing, she carefully examined the smaller woman’s arm and torso, checking the measurements of her drawing against Lena’s frame. “So I’m assuming that you’d like your back and chest to stay clear, so you don’t have to worry about anything messing with your arc reactor, or whatever that thing is?”

Lena nodded, feeling a bit self-conscious but still smiling. “You’re pretty blasé about that, y’know?”

“Honey,” Jill grinned crookedly, “I put metal into people’s privates for part of my living. It really takes a lot to faze me when it comes to something like this.”

“OK, that’s a fair point.”

“Speaking of which, you realize your nipples are, like, perfectly shaped for a nice barbell? I could even hook you up with some bioplast jewelry – they’re non-conductive!”

Lena giggled as she felt a blush rising up her skin. “Appreciate the compliment, but one thing at a time. This is a pretty big first step for me as it is.”

“Had to try,” Jill winked, “and it got you to relax a bit, which is what I was really after. Now, with that said…” She gently placed one finger against the deltoid muscle at the back of Lena’s shoulder, then traced it around to the other side. “So what I am thinking is the wings will be stretched across like this,” her fingers slipped back to the middle of the shoulder, then traced downwards towards the bicep, “body and sword will come up through here. Is that about what you had in mind?”

Lena closed her eyes, trying to imagine the design and how it would look on her skin, the owl’s wings stretched across her and hugging the lines of her body. How the upraised sword would look traveling up her upper arm…

“Yeah,” she agreed, eyes still closed as the smile grew on her face, “I think that’s exactly it.”

“Perfect,” Jill’s almost sang with excitement, “Hold still, ok? I want to get some pictures so I can do a mockup for you, just like I did for Odette, and then we can talk about what’s going to be involved after you get dressed again.”

Photos took perhaps five minutes, and when Lena was done dressing, Jill put together had a basic mockup in Photoshop, demonstrating a rough idea of the final product.

“Gorgeous,” Lena confirmed as she sat down in the tattoo chair, “I’m so excited! I can’t wait to let Odette know – but I want to leave the design a surprise until we get started.”

“I’ll never tell,” Jill promised, then turned in her stool so she was facing her client, “Now for the bad news. Odette’s was a relatively simple design, with a lot of curves and fairly straightforward broad fills. We were able to take care of her in about 7 hours, give or take, including snack and water breaks. Yours is going to be more complex for a few reasons.”

Lena nodded, absorbing that information. “How bad?”

Jill began ticking points on her fingers. “The lines on the feathers are going to suck. They’ll be single fine needle work, and those are going to take time – which means it’ll also be likely to hurt more. There’s no way around it. Same for the sword – straight lines tend to be more painful than curves. I tried to design the hilt and guard so they’ll be less painful, but the blade is probably going to be the last lines we do in your first session because of that.”

Lena winced. “OK, that doesn’t sound _fun_ , but it makes sense so far. So you’ll want to split mine into a few sessions?”

“Absolutely,” Jill confirmed, “I’m going to quote you six hours for linework – and if your skin starts to get too irritated, I may cut that into two sessions to make sure we get a good final product. After that, probably give a couple of weeks for you to heal, and then at least one four hour session for fills – maybe two depending how things work out.”

Lena thought about it for a few moments, then nodded. “Honestly, I’d rather do it right and have something I’m proud of than the alternatives.”

Jill nodded with approval. “Exactly how I feel. Oh – and day of, as long as you wear a sports bra that will leave the area we’re working on clear, no need to strip completely, but I’ll keep the blinds shut for you.”

“Thanks. I know it probably seems stupid,” Lena looked away, “but –”

“It doesn’t,” Jill interrupted firmly, “you’re my customer and it’s your body. You feel more comfortable with privacy? You get privacy. No questions asked.”

“Thanks, luv.”

“Any time.” The artist turned back to her computer, pulling up her appointment book. “So how does starting on this Saturday at 2pm grab you?”

Lena mentally checked her own commitments, then nodded. “Sounds like a great idea to me. Will Hana be in?”

Jill nodded, leaning back a bit in her chair. “Unless you guys have to go off and save the world. Did you want to bring Odette in? I wouldn’t mind checking to see if she needs any touch-ups on her blacks now that it’s had time to heal completely.”

Lena smiled. “Once I tell her what I’m up to, I’m pretty sure she’ll insist.”

“Awesome.”

* * *

The best part of coming home, Lena decided, was that these days, she had someone waiting for her.

She’d always had _friends_ in Overwatch, of course, and Winston gave the best hugs around, but walking into the common room and seeing Odette’s eyes light up? That was something else.

The kiss Lena got a moment later also didn’t hurt, if she was honest.

“So,” Odette asked with that little smile that always made Lena’s heart skip, “how was your afternoon in town?”

“Very productive,” Lena grinned back, “got any plans for Saturday?”

The Frenchwoman tilted her head. “…it seems I do now?”

“Stopped by to visit Jill – I think I’m ready to get a little ink of my own.”

That made Odette’s eyebrows go up. “Oh? What did you decide to do?”

“That’s a secret,” Lena winked, “but Jill mentioned that if you’d like to join me, she’d love to see how your back is doing – especially if you wanted any touch-ups.”

“You came to my appointment,” Odette agreed, “I will be delighted to do the same. Perhaps this time we could go to dinner afterwards without being… interrupted.”

Lena chuckled and leaned in for another kiss. “Sounds like a plan.”


	2. Chapter 2

Saturday arrived quickly. Lena felt a bit like a kid at Christmas, except _she_ was technically the one getting unwrapped that afternoon.

She dressed in a plain sports bra that would leave her shoulders clear, as Jill had suggested, and a loose t-shirt over comfortable jeans, knowing she’d be sitting for several hours, which was never an easy task for her.

Odette had chosen a camisole with a plunging backline, light sweater, and tights for the same reason, and Lena couldn’t help but admire the effect as they ate lunch.

“Have I mentioned lately that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met?”

Odette’s smile was subtle, but it went all the way to her eyes. “I seem to recall you mentioning something along those lines last night. Among other things.”

“Hah. Still, you look lovely. Excited about today?”

“I’m very curious,” Odette admitted, “I’ve been wondering just what you have planned.” Lena grinned as she felt Odette’s foot lightly rest against her ankle. “And you are looking very handsome yourself, _chérie._ ”

Lena felt a blush rising on her face. “If we keep this up, we’ll be late for our appointment.”

“True,” Odette admitted with a bit of regret, “which would be a shame. But perhaps later…” Her smile turned wicked as she leaned in, her voice dropping. “As you said to me, they don’t know how you react to getting kinky in bed.”

Lena couldn’t help but laugh at the tables being turned on her.

* * *

As Jill had mentioned during the design appointment, Hana was sitting in the shop when they walked through Practical Magic’s door.

“Ladies!” The tattoo artist grinned as she stood from her desk. “Welcome back! Ready to have some fun?”

Lena grinned, walking up to shake hands with their artist, then grinned at where Hana was sitting, her long hair tied back, a tank top revealing the MEKA ‘graduation’ tattoo she’d gotten on one shoulder. “Absolutely. Hana, you going to help out today?”

“That’s the plan,” Hana confirmed with a nod, “you mind if I help with prepping you up, Lite-Brite?”

“Well, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before,” Lena admitted as Jill locked the door and drew her blinds, “what else have you been up to?”

“Pretty basic stuff,” the Mech pilot shrugged, “half the time all I get to do is take pictures and sweep the floor.”

“It’s traditional,” Jill agreed with a smile, “but since you _have_ been a good girl this week, I thought I’d let you take care of Odette’s touch ups – and since she’s an apprentice, Odette, she isn’t allowed to charge, so that means the work will be free.”

Odette chuckled as she pulled her sweater over her head. “How can I say no to that?”

Once they had both taken off what clothing needed to be removed, Lena settled into the tattoo chair. “Mind if Odette gets a good look at the lines before you get started on her?”

“No problem at all,” Jill assured with a smile, “I figured you’d want her to see.”

Despite having watched Odette’s back getting prepped, Lena was surprised by the cool feeling of the cloth Jill carefully wiped over her skin, and the light scrape of the barber’s razor as it dragged against her skin.

“OK,” Jill noted as she carefully ran a thumb over the freshly washed and shaved skin. “I think that’ll do nicely. Let me grab the transfer.”

The feeling of the clear material being sealed on wasn’t really unpleasant, and Odette’s gasp as she took in the linework and realized the meaning behind the imagery was worth the wait.

“Lena…this is beautiful.” The former assassin’s eyes glowed with emotion as she took it all in. “ _Je t’aime, mon prince.”_

“Jill, mind giving us a second?”

The tattoo artist grinned as she stepped back. “Oh, sure. Get it out of your systems, though, because after this you’re mine for the rest of the afternoon.”

Odette’s lips were on hers within a moment, and Lena wrapped her un-adorned arm around her lover as the chair squeaked under their combined weight.

“So, I guess you like the idea?” Lena’s voice was breathless as they disengaged, her smile feeling like it would split her face.

“Very much. I cannot wait to see it brought to life.”

Odette stepped back, and Lena could hear Hana rolling her eyes. “OK, ok, we get it, you’re disgusting and cute. C’mon, Swan-girl. Let’s start getting you ready too.”

As Odette settled on the adjacent table, Jill settled back down to Lena’s chair. “For the record, I think you two are adorable, but I’m also a grown woman and not a Doritos addict.”

Lena couldn’t see Hana at this angle, but the sound of the younger woman blowing a raspberry made her grin.

“Now,” Jill spoke gently as she gently ran a finger over the edge of the transfer, “as exciting as that was, I’m going to ask the same thing I did before I started on Odette. Are you 100% sure you are ready to do this? We can stop, we can reschedule, or we can take a couple minutes to talk if you need it. No pressure, ok?”

Lena took a deep breath, smiled, and nodded. “I’m good. Let’s go for it!”

The vibration got to her more than the pain did, really. Feeling the tattoo machine’s oscillations through her skin and the bones of her shoulder was a bit like the tension that ran through her body when preparing to rewind. At first she tried to close her eyes and push it away, but her imagination started to fill in the images of whirling blue _nothing_ surrounding her, her body fading…

The tattoo machine stopped, a slim hand took hers, and Lena gasped as she opened her eyes.

“You’re here, _mon amour._ ” Odette must have realized what had been going through her mind. “You’re right here.”

It took a few deep breaths before Lena could nod, embarrassment coloring her face. “Sorry, I just started to…sorry. Sorry.”

“Hey,” Jill leaned over, putting a hand over her other forearm, “you’re all right. I told you before, I’ll do as much, or as little, as you’re comfortable with today. You need to stop? We stop.”

Lena nodded, biting her lip. “I’ll be all right in a minute. I just need to keep my eyes open and remember what’s going on.”

“OK,” the artist nodded, then grew serious, “but seriously, if it gets to be too much, _tell me_. No judgement, all right?”

“Thanks, luv. I promise.”

“Here,” Jill stood, gesturing Lena up, “I got an idea. Let me turn the chair a bit.”

When Lena sat back down after a few minutes of adjustments to both the chair and the table, she could easily see Odette while Hana carefully went over a few of the black fills that had faded slightly, like a painter adding a touch-up coat, while Jill returned to work on her shoulder and arm, bringing out the owl’s feathers and body.

“Better?”

“Yeah…yeah, I think so.”

“OK, good. Let’s see if we can finish the wings, and then we’ll take a break before I do the rest of the body and the sword.”

* * *

An hour later, they were sitting on the shop’s couches surrounded by pizza boxes, and Lena was feeling much more like herself again. Once Jill’s work had moved to the meat of her arm and off the bone, Lena found it much easier to cope with the sting of the tattooing as the disturbingly familiar vibrations had faded, and the artist had complimented her several times on her recovery.

“Seriously, you guys both make my day. If you keep coming back in for more work, I may have to do a dedicated portfolio for you.”

“There’s a thought,” Lena mused between bites of pepperoni and mushroom, “What do you think, luv? Maybe we could do something match-y?”

“Mm. Interesting idea, _chérie_. What do you have in mind?” Odette’s back was done, the few touchups Hana had needed to perform on the back piece sealed again under a fresh plexiskin patch before she’d pulled her sweater back on.

“Dunno,” Lena admitted, “maybe something to keep the theme going? Each of us has one half of the piece? Something that looks good by itself but is a complete picture when we’re together?”

“I think there’s a few different ways we could do that,” Jill noted, reaching for her sketchpad, “I’ll try to have some rough ideas drawn up for you before Lena’s next appointment.”

“Mind if I help?” Hana had a thoughtful expression as she tapped a pen against her own sketchpad. “I did come up with the first one. Maybe we can blend styles a bit.”

“I like it,” Jill confirmed, “we can collaborate on the actual inking, too. Make it part of your portfolio.”

“Sweet.” Hana started to sketch a bit, occasionally nibbling on her last slice of pizza.

“That reminds me,” Lena looked over to the senior artist after swallowing her last bite, “can you give me an idea of how you wanted to color in the highlights of the sword? I wanted it to have the blue touches we talked about, but it occurred to me that it might get a little ‘Star Wars’ if we go too far.”

“Oh,” Jill grinned, “yeah, no, I was just going to do a little bit along the edges and a bit of highlighting. No Jedi involved.”

Lena giggled, then realized that Odette was staring at them like they’d suddenly started speaking Norwegian. “What?”

“I have no idea what the two of you were just talking about,” Odette admitted, “I’m confused.”

“What,” Lena blinked, “Star Wars? Luke Skywalker? Rey? Han Solo? Princess Leia? Darth Vader?”

Odette just kept shaking her head.

“Oh my god,” Lena murmured, stricken, “How can you have never seen _Star Wars_? Like, any of it?”

“If Amélie saw it, it didn’t make enough of an impression for me to remember.” Odette shrugged, her voice perfectly matter of fact. “Beyond that…Talon was not terribly interested in giving me access to pop culture.”

“Ok, fair,” Lena admitted after considering her partner’s unique circumstances, “still, I feel as if I’ve somehow failed as your girlfriend by not making you watch it all at least once.”

Hana snorted. “What, all of it? You’d need a couple of weeks just for the movies.”

Lena shrugged. “Could do worse. Maybe start watching a few in the evenings?”

Odette laughed softly. “Why do I have a feeling I will be watching them regardless of what I think about this plan?”

“Oh, trust me,” Lena assured her lover, “you like the story of Swan Lake, you’ll like this!”

The rest of the linework went well, though Lena had to admit she was feeling a bit strained from the effort of keeping still, but she wasn’t feeling anything like her earlier anxiety. Those final delicate lines to create the sword just seemed to take twice as long. Finally, after what seemed like an hour Jill wiped her newly inked skin down and applied the same type of plexiskin seal she’d used for Odette’s back and got pictures of the initial tattooing.

“I’d say give this about two weeks to heal,” Jill judged as she examined Lena’s shoulder, “and then colors.”

“It’s a plan, then.” Lena paid up and then exchanged a hug with the artist. “This is brilliant, I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’re doing this.”

Jill grinned, giving an obviously surprised Odette a hug as well before turning back to her British client. “It’s what I do.  These are the kind of days that make it all worth it, really. Now you ladies go out and have some fun.”

Hana grinned, making a ‘shoo’ing gesture. “What she said.  I’ll see you back home later. Go be ridiculous.”

“Well,” Odette gave an exaggerated tilt of her head, “if you _insist_ , Hana.”

* * *

Unlike their last attempt to finish a tattooing session with a date, the rest of their evening went perfectly.

From the tattoo shop they decided to make a night of it in a very different way. Rather than a restaurant and plans to dance, they collected a bottle of wine and everything needed for a picnic.

Technically the park at Rosia Bay was closed after dark, but that wasn’t really an issue between Odette’s skills and Lena’s ingenuity at getting into places she wasn’t necessarily supposed to be. Before long they had spread a warm blanket atop the cliffs, not far from the old British fortress, and dined with the sea and the modern docks spreading out below them.

“Never really went up here before,” Lena admitted as they wrapped a second blanket around them once they had finished eating, “suppose I should have, with Lord Nelson and all.”

She felt Odette’s shrug, and smiled as her lover nestled in a bit closer. “I think I prefer it this way. There’s something special about having this for just ourselves.”

“Yeah,” Lena admitted, turning to offer her Swan a gentle kiss, “there is that.”


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks later than Lena would have liked, thanks to missions keeping her quite occupied, they were back to Practical Magic to finish Lena’s tattoo, but to her surprise the blinds were drawn, the door locked, and the sign for a private session in progress had been placed in the windowsill. Lena frowned, then turned to look at Odette as she stepped out of the car. “Appointment was for three o’clock, right? And Saturday? Like, _this_ Saturday?” Reflexively, Lena checked her watch. 14:55 on Saturday, the 19 th, right.

She felt a brief flash of fear that somehow the watch was wrong, that she was _unstuck_ again, but Odette gently took her hand and squeezed, letting Lena take a moment to breathe as she reminded herself that this was _here_ and _now_.

“That’s right. I overheard you making the appointment and you wrote it down on your phone.” The taller woman shrugged as she stepped up to knock at the door. “Perhaps they were just getting ready for us?”

Before Lena could offer a reply, the door unlocked and Jill was there, waving them in with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that! Hana brought a friend in to talk about getting inked as part of her apprenticeship portfolio, and I forgot to unlock the door for you.”

“No harm done,” Lena assured the tattoo artist with a smile, “just had a moment of wondering if I wrote the wrong day down in my calendar.”

Lena followed Jill back inside, Odette close behind, then came to a sudden stop as she realized who was sitting on the couch chatting with Hana.

Sombra was wearing a loose shirt and jeans instead of the usual long coat or iridescent underglove that marked her 'working' attire, but the hacker still had her hair shaved on one side, revealing the connections that integrated her cybernetics with her mind, and her sprawling posture as she chatted with the MEKA pilot had an unmistakable air of amusement. Lena thought the hacker always seemed to be in on a joke nobody else knew about, and it felt doubly so when she appeared in such an unexpected context.

“Uhhh. Hi. Hana, what…?”

“It’s cool,” the Korean replied, popping a bubble from her gum and then returning it to her mouth, “just doing a couple sketches and a consult.”

Sombra nodded with a lazy smile, then waved. “ _Hola, arándano._ Been a while.”

Lena turned, and Odette was giving the hacker a look that she found surprisingly difficult to read, but it seemed like there was some genuine amusement under hiding under the mask of her unimpressed expression. “I’m not blue anymore, _ombre_. I was _never_ a berry, and the spider is gone. Your little nicknames make even less sense.”

The hacker sat, seemingly wounded for a moment, then leapt up and hugged Odette, laughing as the former Widowmaker brought her arms up after a moment to return the embrace. “I missed you too, _amiga._ How have you been doing?”

Odette smiled as they disengaged, reaching out to take Lena’s hand in her own. “I’m well. I’m surprised to see you here – it’s been more than a year since I left Talon…”

The hacker shrugged. “You needed some time to learn how to be _you_. Don’t worry, I’m pretty excited about finding out more about who was under all that crap Talon put in your head.”

Lena felt as if her brain had tilted slightly off axis. “So…if you’re getting inked, will it be one of Hana’s original designs?” That seemed like a safe subject. Talking about tattoos didn’t require her to radically shift her worldview any further, right?

Hana grinned as she opened her sketchpad. “Oh, check this out!” The design was a pattern of carefully arranged shapes and white spaces, creating something that looked a bit like circuitry, but also evoked some of the same sugar skull embellishments that made up so much of Sombra’s established style.

“I used to have a lot more ink,” Sombra admitted, her voice turning a bit pained, “but I had to get a lot of it removed because it wasn’t…who I was, anymore. When _conejita_ over here mentioned she was doing the apprenticeship stuff on her stream, I thought I might get something new.”

Lena gave Sombra thoughtful look, then nodded. Sometimes it was good to be reminded their occasional enemies had lost things dear to themselves, too. “Well, I think it looks lovely. Where’s it going?”

“Right along the forearm,” Sombra explained as she traced a line from wrist to elbow with the fingers of her other hand, “with a little bit of luminescent ink for the details.”

“Sounds aces.” Remembering the reason they had come into the shop in the first place, Lena turned to look at Jill, who had been setting up inks and needles for her tattoo machine. “Speaking of details, are you ready for me?”

The tattoo artist nodded, waving her over to the chair. “Yup, I think I’ve got everything I need to finish the work for you. I think that if things go well, we’ll be done in three or four hours.”

Lena slipped out of her jacket, then pulled her shirt over her head, exposing the sports bra beneath as she left her clothes on the unoccupied couch. “Fantastic. Let’s go, then!”

“OK,” she could hear Sombra stage whispering to Odette, “I think I get what you see in her now.”

She couldn’t see her swan’s face, as she climbed into the chair, but her voice had a distinct hint of mischief that set Lena’s ears to burning. “Oh, that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.”

Lena coughed sharply as looked over at them, getting an amused glance from Jill as she finished setting up the tattoo machine. “I’m right here, you know.”

Odette’s smile was pure innocence. “Of course you are, _mon prince_. Should I come up to sit with you?”

Despite being Scored On, Lena considered that seriously. “I think I should be OK, but if I start getting a little antsy again I’ll let you know.”

Just as before, Hana helped prep her up, and within a few minutes Jill had begun the process of adding life to the owl that stretched across her shoulder, beginning with the deep crimson shade she’d chosen for its eyes.

The process of adding the color wasn’t as bad as some of the lines had been, and Jill was mindful of how some of the tattooing close to the bone had rattled Lena last time, and gave her a little warning before starting those areas, then letting Lena know when she’d finished, interspersing compliments and appreciation for how the work was turning out.

“This is seriously one of my favorite projects I’ve done in the last couple of years, you know? I love the stories you two are telling with these…we just need to take care of the highlights for the sword’s blade and you are going to be all set!”

Four hours after they’d begun, Jill was sealing the transparent bandage over the completed tattoo, and Lena posed for more pictures, including a couple with Odette to show off the set.

“I’ll send you guys copies of these – they’re _super_ cute.”

“So,” Lena said thoughtfully, “what now? Night’s still young, after all.”

Odette smiled. “We never did get to try the paella.”

Lena’s brows rose. “You OK with going back there?”

“Well,” Odette mused, “I strongly doubt Talon would try to abduct us there again.”

“I can promise they won’t,” Sombra agreed, “they’re aware they don’t have a hold on you anymore, Odette.”

“Well, all right, then.” Lena admitted with a thoughtful nod, “Want to go home and smarten up first?”

“ _D’accord.”_ Turning to Sombra, Odette gave her former comrade a little smile, “can we trust you to keep yourself occupied?”

Sombra snorted. “Maybe I’ll let Hana work on my ink tonight, if she asks nicely. But you two go have a nice date. You deserve to get that one back.”

Lena smiled over to Hana. “Yeah, something tells me you two will find some way to get into more trouble.”

“Whatever,” Hana fenced back, sticking out her tongue, “ _I’m_ not the one who keeps getting the cops called on them.”

Lena laughed, then looked back to Sombra. “Well, I guess it was nice to meet you…for real, I mean. Not just in a fight. You could stick around, you know.”

Sombra rolled her eyes, but there wasn’t much heat in her voice. “Don’t you even start with ‘The world could use more heroes’, _bombilla_. That's not me. I'm just a girl trying to figure out what's really going on. Sometimes that means I do work for Gabi. Sometimes it means Talon. Sometimes it means working with people you don't even know exist.” Sombra’s smirk widened slightly. “I might even do a little work here and there for your big fuzzy friend. But the last thing I am is a hero."

Lena couldn’t quite find the words to respond to that, but Sombra hadn’t finished. Her expression softened, and her smile was much more like the genuine one she’d given Odette when they’d arrived. “"But…I like you. I like having more friends out there. So maybe you'll see me around sometimes, _amiga._ ”

Lena smiled. “Well, that’s something anyway.”

Odette looked over with an approving smile, and Lena felt like she’d just passed a bit of a test she hadn’t even realized she was taking. Giving her lover a little nod, Odette turned back to address her former colleague: “I’m making _pot au feu_ on Thursday, _ombre._ If you haven’t been shooting at any of us lately, perhaps you could stop by for dinner.”

Sombra grinned, giving Odette a little bow. “I’ll see what I can do, _cisne_.”

After a change of clothes and a bit of makeup, the Prince and her Swan finally resumed their long delayed dinner date, enjoyinga bottle of wine and sharing a pan of paella just as they’d planned the night they had been so rudely interrupted. Lena decided that it was all the better for the wait.

They’d finished about half the pan when Lena had to finally ask the question that had been on her mind for much of the evening. “So…how do you feel about bumping into Sombra today, really?”

Odette considered her answer as she sipped her wine. “It was interesting. She knew me when I was Widowmaker, and she always tried to treat me as…something different. Something more than the weapon Talon insisted I must be. But she was right – I did need to find…who I truly was.”

Lena smiled. “So?”

Odette reached out, gently running a finger over her lover’s wrist where it poked out from the cuff of her tuxedo jacket. “I know who I am, now. I know what I want. I know what I can _be_ , and will never let anyone force me to become anything less ever again.”

Lena gently took Odette’s fingers in hers, squeezing lightly, letting the pride and love in her eyes speak for her.

“Beyond that,” Odette said thoughtfully, “I think that despite what Sombra said, it was hard to say how strong our friendship really was – especially with Talon’s…interference. I am looking forward to finding out, now. Perhaps it will be as before – but perhaps it will be better.”

Raising her wineglass, Lena lightly tapped it against Odette’s in salute. “I think I’ll drink to that.”


End file.
